Sharing of Powers

Sharing of powers between the president and Congress is the most novel concept in the Constitution. The framers were used to a monarchy so they wanted the extreme opposite of it-not trusting one man, who was elected by the people, to do the job; but instead insisting on a checks and balances system from a group of people (elected by the people) agreeing or disagreeing with him.

Blending of powers is the only thing that has preserved our Constitution and our government. It has made it possible to push blame back and forth and not get the American public entirely upset at any one person enough to secede. Your son is dead in Iraq? "Not my fault," says the Congressional Representative, "Bush sent the troops over there without our consent." "Not my fault, I notified Congress," Bush says, "if they (your elected reps) had voted to bring troops back then it would have been done."

Our government is really like a committee that focuses on the ruling of the U.S. Bills go back and forth-vetoed by the President, overruled by a 2/3 by Congress. It's all a relative group deciding on what happens. And since the process is so elastic (if not ridiculous), it has worked for the past 200 years.